Dust deflector



J. BERNFELD DUST DEFLECTOR July 1, 1941.

Original Filed July 14, 1936 JAMEJ BERNFEL 0 ATTO RN EY Reiuued Julyl,

James Bernield, Newark, N. 1., assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton. Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original No. 2,120,347, dated June 14,1938, Serial No. 90,454, July 14, 1936.

Application for reissue April 10, 1940, Serial No. 328,932

Claims;

This invention relates .to a dust deflecting device i'or vacuum cleaner dust bags and an-object of this invention is to prevent the clogging of the mouth of a vacuum cleaner bag with an accumulation of dust and to, provide a structure which has improved air flow characteristics.

Another object of this invention is to provide a dust deflecting funnel-shaped member having a tubular end which may be inserted into the rigid tubular mouth of a vacuum cleaner dust bag and retained in frictional engagement all around. the inner circumference of said mouth and serving to keep the accumulated dust away from the mouth of the bag. Another object of this invention is to'provide an outwardly distending elastic resilient band e11- circling the inner circumference of the rigid tubular mouth of a dust bag for retaining the end of the tubular dust deflecting member therein.

Another object of this invention is to provide an elongated dust deflector made of material having an element of rigidity whereby the de flector will retain its elongated form while permitting transverse flexure in service.

Another object of this invention is to form the deflector body with outwardly extending means serving to space the dust deflector inwardly of the inner surface of the dust bag and providing a storage space intermediate the deflector body and the dust bag for collecting the dust discharged into the dust bag in an arearemoved from the mouth of the bag.

Another object of this invention is to provide the tubular lower end of the dust deflector with means which will permit said end to be distended or contracted in diameter while remaining in full contact all around the mouth of the dust bag.

With the above and other objects in view the invention will be hereinafter more particularly described, and the combination and arrangement of parts will be shown in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the claims which form part of this specification.

Reference will now be had to the drawing, wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which: I

Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a vacuum cleaner dust bag and a dust deflector in assembled relation, the dust bag being in an infl ated position Figure 2 is a bottom view of the assembled metal mouth of the dust bag and the dust deflector.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a modified dust deflecting member, the section being taken as on line 3-4 in Figure 4.

Figure-4 is a bottom plan view of the modified dust deflecting member shown in Figure 3, which i may be molded in one piece and may have an in-' tegral outwardly extending flange serving to space the dust deflector away from the inner surface of the dust bag.

' In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the numeral I ll indicates a vacuum cleaner dust bag which is usually formed of woven fab-.

ric and is provided with a tubular metal sleeve II at its lower end. i

' oi the dust deflector.

The sleeve II is adapted to receive a discharge nozzle of a vacuum cleaner and be engaged thereto in any suitable manner (not shown). The sleeve II has a reduced upper end ii. The neck portion I3 of the dust bag is slippedover the end l2 and a tightly drawn metallic band It is used to clamp the sleeve I l in unitary relation to the bag and so that the sleeve forms the mouth II of the bag II).

For the purpose of preventing the clogging of the mouth IS with the accumulated dust, I have provided a funnel-shaped dust deflector II which may be made of a flat piece of sheet material having its opposite side edges lapped radially along a longitudinal line H and preferably Joined by eyelets l8. The dust deflector It has a tubular lower end I9 comprising two circumferentially overlapping flaps 21 which permit said end to be distended or contracted in diameter. while in full contact all around the inner circumference of the reduced upper end I! of the sleeve I I.

The dust deflector I6 is to be mounted inside the mouth l5 of the dust bag III with the tubular end l9 inside the upper end I! of the sleeve II. A slit resilient band 20 of substantially annular form and normally of larger diameter than the inner diameter of the tubular end I! is then contracted in diameter and placed inside the end I! The distending band presses the material of the deflector outwardly and holds it in frictional engagement all around the mouth of the dust bag.

The dust deflector It may be made of sheet rubber or other material having sufllcient thickness or body so as to be somewhat rigid and be capable of maintaining its elongated tubular form under all service conditions without collapsing or falling down and constricting the neck 15 when the motor is in operation, the dust'flowing up through the dust deflector l8 follows the direction shown by thearrows and settles down in the annular space between the dust bag Ill and the dust deflector l and a gradually increasing quantity of dust 2i accumulates without clogging the mouth ll.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, I have provided a modified dust deflector II which may be molded in one piece and may preferably have a tubular body I! and an integral outwardly extending flange II which is of larger extent than the body 22. The flange It serves tospace the dust de-' flector away from the inner surface of the dust bag ll shown in Figure}. A plurality of apertures 14 are provided in the flange II to permit the dust comingthrough the mouth ll of the b I. to pass therethrough and collect in the storag space 2', shown in Figure 1.

As dust bags are usually constructed, the size of the bag is very large but due'to the fact that the collected dust settles back at or on the mouth of the bag, the mouth of the bag gets clogged when only a small amount of dust acc ulaies and this impairs the efficiency of the aim?! the vacuum cleaner.

The structure herein described prevents the dust from collecting at the mouth of the bag and this increases the storage capacity of a dust bag without impairing the efliciency of the suction.

Due to the fact that the body of the dust deflector herein described has an element of rigidity, the collected dust cannot, at any time, press in the sides of the deflector and clog the mouth of the dust bag. Also, due to the rigidity of the body of the dust deflector it is possible to detach the dust bag from the vacuum cleaner nozzle without dropping any of the collected dust. This s is accomplished by displacing the sleeve Ii from the exhaust outlet of the cleaner, the sleeve, the deflector and the bag then being removable as a unit. When a dust bag fllled with dust is to be emptied, the clamp 28 is removed from the dust bag and the dust is emptied through the top, in the usual manner.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have described the operation of my invention, together with the form of device which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the device shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means within the scope of the appended claims;

It is to be noted that materials having an element of rigidity, such as thick sheet rubber or a stiff buckram fabric which may be used for the dust deflector, will .be strong enough to maintain the tubular shape while permitting transverse flexure in service, such as occurs when the dust bag is repeatedly lowered and raised.

A rigid dust deflector without transverse flexure would quickly wear out and destroy the dust bag while a dust deflector made of soft material without an element of rigidity would collapse and destroy the permanent storage space desired between the elongated dust deflector body and the body of the dust bag.

It is also to be noted that while I have shown overlapping flaps 21 to permit the tubular end of the dust deflector to be distended or contracted in diameter, so thatthe dust deflector will be readily interchangeable for use in vacuum cleaner bags having different size months, that the said flaps may be taken as representing any suitable means for performing the same function.

It is to be understood that the protection herein applied for is not confined to the particular combinations of features or elements referred to in the following claims, or described in the fore-' going specifications orshown in the accompanying drawing, either independently or in combination.

I claim:

1. The combination with idust collecting vacuum cleaner bag and an elongated dust deflecting funnel-shaped membertherein. said bag having a tubular metal mouth and said dust deflectingmember having a tubular end insertabie in said mouth, overlapping means in said tubular end for distending said end prior to insertion in said mouth, and an outwardly distending resilient band adjacent the inner circumference of said" mouth and retainingsaid tubular end in frictiona1 engagement all around the inner circumference of said mouth, the body of said dust deflecting member having an element of rigidity whereby said member retains itfilongated form while permitting transverse flexure in service.

2. The combination with a dust collecting vacuum cleaner-bag having a tubular metal mouth and an elongated dust deflecting member therein, said dust deflecting member having a tubular end seated in said mouth, -an outwardly distending resilient band adjacent the inner circumference of said tubular end and retaining said end in frictional engagement with the inner circumference of said mouth, the body of said dust deflecting member being flexible and having an element of rigidity whereby said member retains its elongated form while permitting transverse flexure in service, the end of said deflecting member having outwardly extending means serving to space said member inwardly of the side wall surfaces of said dust bag and forming a storage space intermediate said deflecting member and said dust bag for collecting the dust discharged into said bag without clogging said mouth.

3. The combination with a dust collecting vacuum cleaner bag and a dust deflecting member positioned therein, said bag having a tubular mouth at its lower end and said dust deflecting member having a tubular'end, means for engag-- ing the tubular end of said dust deflector and the mouth of said dust bag into unitary relation, the body of said dust deflecting member being flexible and adapted to be flexed upon receiving a force through the bag side wall upon contact with articles of furniture during cleaner operation yet having an element of rigidity and so'adapted to maintain normally a position longitudinally of the dust bag, whereby air discharged into said dust bag will cause the surfaces of said bag to be spaced away from the exterior surface of said deflecting member and form a storage space therebetween for collecting dust without clogging the mouth of saiddust bag, and outwardly extending means carried by said dust deflector for spacing said deflector away from the inner side wall surface of mid dust bag.

4. A dust collecting vacuum cleaner bagand a, dust deflecting member unit adapted to be mounted on a suction cleaner, said bag having a tubular mouth and said dust deflecting member having a tubular end engaged with the mouth of said dust bag, the body of said dust deflecting member being flexible and adapted to be flexed upon receiving a force throughthe bag side wall yet having an element of rigidity and so adapted to maintain normally a position longitudinally of the dust bag, whereby air discharged intosaid dust bag will cause the surfaces of said bag to be spaced away from the exterior surface of said deflecting member and form a storage Space therebetween for collecting dust without clogging the mouth of said dust bag, and outwardly extending means carried by said dust deflector for spacing said deflector away from the inner side wall surface of said dust bag.

5. A dust deflector for a suction cleaner bag, comprising an elongated tubular body-portion insertable into the mouth of the bag, said defiector being made of material having an element of rigidity for maintaining said tubular form, said body portion having a circumscribing flange at the end thereof spaced from said mouth, said flange being in angular relation with said tubular body portion.

6. A filtering unit for attachment to a suction cleaner and comprising a suction cleaner bag and a flexible dirt-laden-air-conveying member therein having a rigidity sufilcient normally to maintain itself in normal shape but sufficiently flexible to permit flexure and distortion upon reception of a force exerted through the bag wall and when in service; said bag having a rigid mouth, one end of said member connected to said mouth, and bag spacing means carried by said member interiorly of said bag to space the side walls of said bag from said member.

7. A dirt-laden-air-conveying member adapted to be positioned within a dust bag having a mouth, one end of said member being adapted to be connected to said mouth and laterally extending bag-spacing means formed integrally on said member and spaced from said one end and adapted to space the side walls of an enclosing bag from said member in order to form a dirtcollecting space between said member and said bag.

8. A hollow dirt-laden-air-conveying member adapted to be mounted in a dust bag, said member being flexible but having a rigidity sufiicient normally to maintain itself in normal shape but sufllciently flexible to permit flexure and distortion upon reception of a force exerted through the bag wall and when in service, said member having integral bag-spacing means formed thereon, the cross-sectional area of said member increasing from one end to the other, and a rigid seating element at one end of said member.

9. A dust deflector for a suction cleaner bag comprising a normally tubular passageway which is flexible to an extent sufficient to allow it to be flexed by contact forces exerted thereon by the walls of an enclosing dust bag when that bag is moved transversely relative to said passageway and into contact therewith, said passageway having sufiicient rigidity normally to maintain its tubular shape when extended horizontally and supported only at one end, an integral transverse flange at one end of said passageway to function as bag-spacing means, and a seating element at one end to support said passageway upon the exhaust outlet of a suction cleaner.

10. A dust deflector for a suction cleaner bag comprising a normally tubular passageway of molded rubber which is flexible to an extent sufllcient to allow it to be flexed by contact forces exerted thereon by the walls of an enclosing dust bag when that bag is moved transversely relative to said passageway and into contact therewith, said passageway having sufficient rigidity normally to maintain its tubular shape when extended horizontally and supported only at one end, an integral transverse apertured flange at one end of said passageway to function as a bagspacing means, and a seating element at one end to support said passageway upon the exhaust outlet of a suction cleaner.

JAMES BERNFELD. 

